Plastic
The Fantastic Material

Plastic is the most used material in the world, but only 5% is recycled. It is made from petroleum, so the more petroleum burned for new products, the more greenhouse gases.

• Look on the bottom of a plastic product. You'll see a small recycle symbol with a number 1-7 inside. The most common recyclable plastics are 1-5, and 7.
• Plastic bags (film plastic) can be recycled at many grocery stores.
• If we recycled all plastics, we could reduce oil consumption and save 25% of landfill space.
• The plastic recycling business creates over 200,000 American jobs.

• Know which plastics (1-7) are accepted by recyclers.
• Buy a personal glass or metal water container, wash and reuse.
• Buy recycled plastic products and plastics that can be recycled.
• Store food in glass containers to reduce buying plastic.

Plastic #1

Soda/water bottles, milk jugs, detergent and cooking oil bottles, food jars.
Becomes: Toys, pipes, lumber, flower pots, trash cans, oil and cleaning supply containers.

Plastic #2

Detergent bottles, milk/water/juice containers, grocery bags.
Becomes: New bottles, textiles, carpet, fiber filling, pillow fabric, quilts, jackets, shrink-wrap, grocery bags, food packaging.

Plastic #3

Plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, shrink-wrap, water bottles.
Becomes: New of the same

Plastic #4

Food containers, dry-cleaning and produce bags, trash can liners.
Becomes: New of the same, plastic tubing and sheets, plastic lumber.

Plastic #5

Ketchup bottles, aerosol caps, drinking straws, yogurt containers.
Becomes: New of the same.

Plastic #6

Not widely accepted yet.

Plastic #7

Multi-gallon water bottles.
Becomes: New of the same and plastic lumber.